Tag: Pennsylvania

7/11/19--Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser is supporting Philadelphia nonprofit, Safehouse, in its legal battle with the federal government over whether it should be allowed to open a supervised drug consumption site in that city, stepping into an issue at the center of one of Colorado’s most divisive political debates. Read

2/15/19--Thousands of Pennsylvanians have turned to medical marijuana since the drug became legally available last year, but dispensaries and their customers are living in fear. Since the federal government considers marijuana a Schedule 1 narcotic -- the same class as heroin -- banks and credit card companies are keeping their distance, meaning patients must carry large amounts of cash and go to great lengths to keep it safe. Read

2/11/19--Lt. Gov. John Fetterman kicked off is pot legalization listening tour in Pennsylvania with dozens of people packing the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg to talk about legalizing marijuana. There were some opponents who voiced their opinions, but the public comments on this opening night ranged about four-to-one in favor of a broad legalization of pot for recreational use. Read

12/11/18--Chris Visco, a dominant retailer of medical marijuana, is the cofounder and CEO of TerraVida Holistic Centers, a chain of three marijuana dispensaries scattered across the Philadelphia suburbs. Visco has taken an unorthodox route to the top of the Keystone State's marijuana industry. She employs nearly 80 people and hopes to open six more spa-like dispensaries next year. Read

12/10/18--Eight applicants were denied permits to supply medical marijuana research projects late last week. A news release from Gov. Tom Wolf office said none of the eight applicants met the “rigorous requirements of the application review process.” Another permit application period will be held in early 2019. Read

1/14/18--Erie City Council looks poised to reduce penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana. Council is expected to vote on changes to an existing city ordinance that would make possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana, and drug paraphernalia, a summary offense instead of a misdemeanor under certain conditions. Read

12/19/17--Six Pennsylvania medical schools have struck deals to partner with marijuana growers, according to industry insiders. Those include Drexel, Temple, and Thomas Jefferson Universities, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM). The potential revenues, and opportunities for research, have spurred smaller schools and independent hospitals to jockey for arrangements of their own. Read

11/3/17--The Pennsylvania Department of Health says more than 2,000 people signed up for the state's new medical marijuana program just days after launching. A health department spokesman said that the registrations include patients and caregivers. Qualifying conditions include AIDS, autism, cancer, chronic pain, and Crohn's disease. Read

11/3/17--Dr. Liang Bartkowiak, a Pennsylvania gynecologist, says she has been inundated with calls from men trying to set up appointments after hearing she was permitted to prescribe medical marijuana. Based on the calls she's been getting, Bartkowiak said she thinks many people misunderstand what the law allows. Read

11/2/17--Pennsylvania launches medical marijuana patient registry with an easy sign-up process, but patients will still have to wait six months for their medicine. The launch of the patient registry is part of the state’s steady implementation of the 2016 law. Read

10/26/17--Cambria County commissioners unanimously approved the policy for the county and its employees to comply with and abide by Pennsylvania's law concerning medical marijuana use – with county leaders pledging not to discharge, threaten, refuse to hire, or discriminate against those certified to use the drug. According to the policy, it will be a county employee's responsibility to notify the human resources department about his or her certification to use medical marijuana. Read

10/23/17--Pennsylvania is angling to become a national leader in medical marijuana research in conjunction with offering treatment to patients in need. Some patients will be asked to participate in clinical trials once Pennsylvania's medical marijuana program becomes fully operational, and there's also a good chance the University of Pittsburgh will conduct some of the research. Read

10/19/17--Simon Property Group, owner of Philadelphia Mills, is trying to bar PharmaCann LLC from opening a medical marijuana dispensary near the mall. Simon Property Group says a deed restriction bars a drugstore, but PharmaCann attorneys deny that the dispensary would be a drugstore. Simon also argued that the deed forbids illegal activity on the premises, and since federal law doesn’t make an exception for medical use of cannabis, a medical marijuana facility would be prohibited. Read

10/12/17--The Deerfield Township Board has considered its options and decided it doesn’t want medical marijuana facilities within its borders. According to Supervisor Ron Cousino, the lack of a full-time police force to protect and watch over such businesses was among the concerns. Read

10/11/17--The National Transportation Safety Board says the engineer involved in a deadly Amtrak crash in Chester last year had marijuana in his system. The train was heading from New York to Savannah, Georgia, when it struck the backhoe in Chester, about 15 miles outside of Philadelphia. Read

9/20/17--Pennsylvania took about three months to process, review, and award medical marijuana permits earlier this year. However, in a legal filing, the Department of Health requested two years to review the records again and respond to PennLive's public records appeal seeking unredacted copies of several of the most heavily redacted applications. According to the department, the initial review "took far less time because there was more staff involved in the reviews and the information reviewed was only that not already redacted by the applicants." Read

9/21/17--Support in Pennsylvania to fully legalize marijuana has reached a record high, according to a poll published by Franklin and Marshall College. A majority of voters in the Keystone State, 59 percent, said “yes” when asked if cannabis should be made legal. When pollsters first began asking the question in 2006, only 22 percent were pro-pot. Read

9/18/17--Bay LLC, operating as Cure PA, plans to operate a medical marijuana dispensary in the Fort Washington Office Park. However, a main concern is that the property sits in the floodplain conservation district and would need zoning relief. At the street, the property is 9 feet under water, but it slopes up to 4.5 feet under water in the back. The existing structure, which sits at the rear of the property, will be renovated and raised 4.5 feet. Although this is a major undertaking, significant improvements would be made to the street front, including hardscaping and benches. Read

9/14/17--Roughly six months from a projected rollout, Pennsylvania's medical marijuana program continues to negotiate glitches and snags that threaten to slow down the potential for thousands of patients to secure long-awaited medications. In the latest set back, the state's Office of Open Records reprimanded the Department of Health for failing to do its job. Open Records said the department failed to "act in good faith" in its handling of the application procedure, which resulted in large portions of applications being redacted, seemingly arbitrarily. Read

9/8/17--BrightStar Biomedics, a Scranton-based company, sought an injunction demanding that the state rescind a permit to grow and process cannabis awarded to a rival, Pennsylvania Medical Solutions, a subsidiary of Vireo Health. BrightStar also accused the state’s Office of Medical Marijuana of violating the law when it awarded Pennsylvania Medical Solutions the permit because the parent company was the subject of “ongoing criminal investigations, license revocations, and administrative penalties.” Read

9/11/17--If Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program is delayed, “people will be forced to needlessly endure excruciating pain, agony, and, in some cases, death,” according to State Sen. Daylin Leach, prime sponsor of the 2016 law legalizing medical cannabis in the state. Leach (D., Montgomery) pleaded with an aspiring medical marijuana grower to back down from a lawsuit that could potentially shut down the program before it even launches. Read

9/1/17--The Pennsylvania Department of Health so far has chosen to conceal the identities of members of the review panel that scored the first round of applications for medical marijuana grower/processor and dispensary permits earlier this year. But, the agency that administers the state Right-to-Know Law ordered the health department to disclose the names, job titles, and employers of the panel members to a PennLive.com reporter who requested the information in May. It’s the first notable rejection of numerous actions the department took to obscure the medical marijuana permitting process. Read

8/21/17--A number of Philadelphia-area law firms are setting up practices to serve the cannabis industry despite concerns of an uncertain future. The uncertainty comes from the apparent disconnect between state and federal laws. It remains a federal crime to possess, grow, distribute, or prescribe marijuana in any form. Read

8/15/17--Support for medical marijuana may be growing in Pennsylvania, but homeowners living in neighborhoods surrounding the planned TerraVida dispensary, approved to open next January in Philadelphia's East Mt. Airy section, do not want to see pot sold in their neighborhood. Read

7/13/17--Members of the Pittsburgh City Council were told that medical marijuana will not be easy for the medically eligible to receive. According to PA Sen. Daylin Leach of Montgomery County, who co-authored the bill, the first challenge is getting enough doctors certified to recommend medical marijuana. The doctor’s recommendation, which may include dosage and types of medical cannabis, leads to a state medical marijuana card. Read

6/29/17--State regulators on announced the 27 entities that have been selected to operate dispensaries under Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana law, a program expected to be up and running next year. The Health Department said not all of them are currently opting to run three locations, so for now there will be 52 dispensaries scattered around the state. The entities that were issued permits will have six months to become operational and can begin providing the drug to patients. Read

6/27/17--Pennsylvania health officials are standing by their decision to award a medical marijuana grower's permit to a company whose affiliate in Minnesota had two ex-executives charged with smuggling a half-million dollars' worth of the drug across state lines. Read

6/26/17--Although Pennsylvania has legalized medical marijuana, it's still illegal at the federal level. Therefore, all of the proceeds from growing, producing, or selling it are illegal as far as the federal government is concerned. As a result, banks that accept proceeds for such activity are at risk of federal prosecution. More specifically, banks that accept cannabis-related income as a deposit could face criminal charges, including money laundering. Read

6/17/17--Lehigh University intends to partner with one of the potential growers in the Lehigh Valley to study the effect of the drug on children with autism. While some parents of autistic children have preached the benefits of cannabis for years, Lehigh's Dean of Education Gary Sasso confirmed that the university wants to collect some of the first quantitative data on the controversial drug therapy. Pennsylvania is one of the few states that specifically allows children with autism to be treated with cannabis. Read

6/14/17--A complete list of companies that want to grow and process medical marijuana in Pennsylvania was released Friday by the state Department of Health. Twelve of the coveted growing permits could be awarded by the end of June, and an announcement of the winners could come as soon as next week. Read

6/15/17--Some Williams Township residents are on edge about their future because of a proposed medical marijuana growing and processing plant that might be moving in next door. However, it was only a sketch plan, and months away from coming before the supervisors. Supervisor George Washburn said the developer has quite a few hurdles to clear before such a place is operational, especially getting a state license. Read

5/20/17--The group, KeystoneGreenMMJ, is waiting to find out whether or not they will receive a license from the state to open a medical marijuana dispensary in the 4600 block of Penn Avenue in Lower Heidelberg Township. Officials said there are dozens of applicants, but only 10 in the region will be approved. Officials with KeystoneGreenMMJ said they are optimistic. Read

5/18/17--The left-wing billionaire George Soros has turned the Philadelphia district attorney’s race on its head by giving $1.45 million to fund a super PAC in support of his preferred candidate, Larry Krasner. The influx of money from Soros gave Krasner a significant leg up over his opposition. Despite splitting votes with six other candidates, Krasner, who was not a favorite to win before Soros’ investment, finished 18 points ahead of the second-place finisher. Read

5/12/17--Mayor Jim Kenney believes that Philadelphia could reduce crime while filling its coffers if it legalizes marijuana and regulates it like alcohol. While Pennsylvania hasn’t legalized marijuana, Kenney said the commonwealth’s hundreds of state-run liquor stores could easily double as pot dispensaries if the state passed legislation to that effect. Read

5/12/17--The majority of Pennsylvanians polled by Franklin & Marshall College believe all marijuana use should be legalized. The Morning Call outlines the 5 bills referring to marijuana in the statehouse currently being consideration. Read

4/27/17--Hundreds of applicants have asked for licenses to grow or sell medical marijuana in Pennsylvania. The flood of applications illustrate the massive interest in getting in on the ground floor of the potentially lucrative medical marijuana industry, which some advocates hope will be the first step toward broader legalization of the drug. Only 12 growing permits will be granted statewide. Read

4/23/17--Protesters gathered to demonstrate this weekend outside Philadelphia Police headquarters. Dubbed the "Jailhouse Solidarity Philly Smoke Session," the protest was organized in response to the department's raid of a meeting of marijuana activists in the city's East Frankford neighborhood. Read

4/21/17--MJ Freeway, a Denver-based software company, was awarded a $10.4 million contract on Thursday to track all of Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis commerce from seed-to-sale, while also creating a registry for patients, caregivers, and practitioners to participate in the state's medical marijuana program. Read

4/18/17--Adamsville Properties filed a motion with bankruptcy court to sell their property, a 45,000-square-foot building, to NH Medicinals (Minnesota) Inc. for $339,000 with several conditions. The conditions are selling the property free and clear of all liens, claims and encumbrances; court approval of the sale; and NH Medicinals obtaining a license from Pennsylvania to grow medical marijuana before the time of the sale closing. Read

4/18/17--More than 200 children with serious illnesses are legally obtaining medical marijuana outside Pennsylvania while state officials work to make the product available to them here. The Safe Harbor program enables parents, legal guardians or caregivers to provide medical marijuana to minors in their care who have a serious medical condition documented by a physician. Read

4/11/17--The Pennsylvania Department of Health issued draft regulations that would govern how doctors become registered to prescribe medical marijuana and certify patients to receive the drug when it becomes available. It's the most recent step in the effort to provide medical marijuana to patients by next year. Read

4/2/17--Governor Tom Wolf says he doesn't agree with the state Auditor General's recent call for legalizing recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania as a way to help solve the commonwealth's fiscal woes. "I am for decriminalizing the holding of small amounts of recreational marijuana," Wolf said. "But, I am not for legalizing recreational marijuana because I don't think we are ready for that yet in Pennsylvania." Read

3/30/17--Former Pittsburgh Steeler Franco Harris, ex-Philadelphia Eagle Lito Sheppard, and former Philadelphia Flyer Riley Cote are all involved in medical marijuana proposals they are hopeful the state will approve. As a strong supporter of medical marijuana, Harris is part of a group that wants to open a medical marijuana research and cultivation center in Braddock, a suburb of Pittsburgh. Read

3/28/17--Chester County authorities say they have busted a marijuana grow operation that was run by Cuban nationals. Over 100 plants ready to produce approximately 200 pounds of marijuana were seized. On top of the marijuana plants, police say they seized items used to grow and harvest marijuana, including lighting, fertilizer, fans, and other material. They also found a marmoset monkey in among all the marijuana. Read

3/21/17--Bethlehem Township supervisors approved an ordinance that permits and regulates medical marijuana facilities in certain zoning districts. Competition for permits is expected to be fierce. The state says it has received correspondence from about 900 entities that have expressed an interest in either producing or dispensing medical marijuana under the state's recently passed law. Read

3/21/17--At least three local companies applied for medical marijuana permits. Mailing a form was just part of the lengthy, 32 part application process, which also required company principals to undergo criminal background checks with the FBI. Grower-producers paid non-refundable fees of $10,000; a refundable permit fee of $200,000; and proved they had capital of $2 million. Dispensary applicants paid non-refundable application fees of $5,000; refundable permit fees of $30,000; and required $150,000 in capital. Read

3/14/17--Braddock council approved a proposal that would bring a 100,000-square-foot medical marijuana facility to the community. Braddock Mayor John Fetterman said he believes the opportunity could transform the community and get Braddock out of financial distress. Read

3/14/17--Instructed by marijuana legalization advocate Chris Goldstein and Linn Washington, Marijuana in the Media is a course offered through Temple University’s School of Media and Communication. Undergraduate students spend Tuesdays and Thursdays examining news coverage, and the history and science of marijuana. According to Washington, the whole point of creating the class was to expose students to information — including misinformation — surrounding cannabis. Read

3/14/17--Braddock Borough Council has voted to approve a plan to build a medical marijuana facility. McKeesport’s Planning Commission also approved a company’s proposal to build a growing facility at a former industrial site, and the state Department of Health is expected to soon award licenses to companies to operate dispensaries or growing operations. Read

2/17/17--On Friday, the city of McKeesport's planning commission approved a proposal to turn a vacant industrial site into a growing and processing site for medical marijuana. The state is accepting applications from potential growers and distributors, and the project – by a group called PurePenn – must get local approvals first. Read

1/26/17--The 47-year-old train engineer in a deadly Amtrak crash that killed two workers near Philadelphia last year tested positive for marijuana, according to documents released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The locomotive was going 106 mph in an area where the speed limit was 110 mph. Read

1/13/17--True Healthy Choice has gained zoning approval from Covington Twp. The Dunmore-based company will grow, process, and refine cannabis to forms approved by the state. True Healthy Choice has gathered a team of experts in cannabis cultivation, compound extraction, and security to develop operations. Read

10/25/16--The state moved a few steps closer to setting up a medical marijuana program on Tuesday as the health department posted draft rules for dispensaries and said temporary regulations for growers and processors would be made public in a few days. The draft regulations for dispensaries would prohibit facilities within 1, 000 feet of schools or day care centers and require employees to be at least 18 years old. Visitors would be notified they are under video surveillance inside the establishments. Read

10/13/16--Panelists participating in a forum sponsored by the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce urged Pennsylvania businesses to prepare for medical marijuana because they're going to have to deal with a range of complications once their employees start using it. Some of the panelists agreed that businesses should update their workplace policies and job descriptions and set clear ground rules to minimize conflict and controversy. Read

10/14/16--Healthy Hemp, LLC, a recognized online store offering various hemp products that deliver the necessary nutrients for proper body functioning, announced the distribution of the new CBD CLINIC topical pain relief product only available to doctors, FDA-registered, and made in an FDA-audited facility. Read

10/11/16--According to an article by The Associated Press, if Arizona’s ballot measure passes, pot shops would soon arise in a place that has long been a center of drug smuggling. How drug cartels respond to legalization has been a focus of debate in Arizona. Law enforcement leaders say the change will strengthen cartels, allowing them to infiltrate the legal pot market, and driving them to sell more hard drugs. Advocates of legalization say it will undercut the cartels by eliminating a key segment of their business. Read

10/6/16--Next semester, Temple students will have a chance to take a class on marijuana. The class developed by School of Media and Communication professor Linn Washington with cannabis activist Chris Goldstein focuses on the difference between cannabis and hemp, the history of its cultivation, the effect it has on a human body, the history of its prohibition, its medical uses and its integration into pop culture. Read